Nie Li warned his father-in-law, "Remember to merge with the Demonic Ape spirit I gave you. It holds far greater potential than your current demon spirit."
Ye Zong no longer took Nie Li's words lightly. He had come to respect the youth's wisdom, realizing it far surpassed his own. He nodded solemnly and kept Nie Li's advice in mind.
"Don't worry," Nie Li continued with a smirk. "I'll find you an even stronger demon spirit in the future."
Ye Zong no longer pretended to be the lofty elder. He accepted the kindness of this "junior" with sincerity, knowing full well that he needed every ounce of strength to face the trials looming over Glory City.
Nie Li, meanwhile, recalled that Ye Han would be returning to Glory City in half a month. Before that, he intended to retrieve Goddess Yu Yan and Duan Jian, and return in time to confront the coming threat.
So, Nie Li gathered all his friends. This time, he was bringing everyone. They were all excited — especially Ziyun, who had longed for an adventure beyond the borders of Glory City.
Now that Nie Li had reached the Legend rank, he could communicate more freely with the Temporal Demon Spirit Book. It seemed the book had absorbed some of his power from his past life and evolved — it now granted him limited control over space, in addition to its mastery of time. Together, these were two Supreme Laws.
With his vast experience, Nie Li knew exactly how to wield this new power. He installed a special spatial gate, one only he could perceive — not even the Sage Emperor would be able to detect it. He anchored it within Glory City and linked it to the Temporal Demon Spirit Book's domain.
They all gathered at the ancient ruins where the entrance to the Ten Millennium Spatial Array was hidden. Nie Li, familiar with the formation, swiftly solved the puzzle. With their combined strength, the group easily handled the monsters within the realm.
Nie Li approached the Stone of Kong, and just like in his past life, he heard Emperor Kong Ming's voice echo in his mind:
"Those who follow me shall be honored.Those who oppose me shall perish.In this lifetime, gifted with extraordinary talent:At ten, I began to comprehend.At thirteen, I split mountains and scattered stones.At sixteen, I grasped the profound truths of demon spirits and broke through to Legend rank.At thirty, none beneath the heavens could withstand three of my strikes.I battled all supreme experts and never tasted defeat.At forty, I comprehended the realm of man and awakened the wisdom of past and future.At fifty, sensing calamity, I abandoned my throne and vanished.I leave behind ten words to pass on:Infinity has no beginning. No beginning can have no end."
As Nie Li listened, a scoff tugged at his lips.
"Legend rank at sixteen and thinks he's hot shit?" Nie Li thought with disdain. "I'm not even fourteen and I'm already a Legend rank expert, nearing mid-Legend. I'm also a peak Sword Grandmaster. Even a three-star Heavenly Fate expert might not be my match."
He chuckled inwardly.
"And he calls himself unparalleled? Even in my second life, I had surpassed that level. Hell, even Ziyun, Ning'er, Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others have more talent than this self-proclaimed emperor."
Just as this train of thought passed through his mind, a spiritual essence surged from the stone, attempting to latch onto his soul. But a deep dragon's roar echoed from the depths of his spirit, shaking the air.
His soul form, taking the shape of a mighty dragon's head, let out a roar of defiance and devoured the invading essence, refining it and strengthening his soul even further.
Nie Li let out a quiet breath of relief.
"Now the other candidates for Kong Ming's legacy won't even be able to detect me."
He turned away, dismissing the so-called "legacy." In truth, he didn't care for it. He already knew his path would far exceed anything Kong Ming had accomplished.
"By the time I'm sixteen," Nie Li mused confidently, "I'll be at least a Heavenly Star or even Heavenly Axis expert. And honestly? That's me downplaying it."
"I'll go even further."
As Nie Li stood in silence, deep in thought, Ye Ziyun approached him. She had noticed the dazed look in his eyes and felt a pang of concern.
"Are you alright, Nie Li?" she asked softly.
He nodded with a faint smile, pulling himself from his thoughts.
Just as they turned to leave, a loud crack echoed behind them — the Stone of Kong, which had stood unshaken for countless years, suddenly crumbled into dust, scattering in the wind.
Nie Li narrowed his eyes.
"Seems like this Emperor Kong Ming isn't as simple as I thought," he muttered under his breath.
He mentally noted to investigate further. That stone shouldn't have reacted like that, not unless something far more profound was hidden within.
As for the so-called profundity of "infinity, beginning, and end" — who, Nie Li thought, was more qualified to speak on such matters than himself?
In his past life, he had gained the favor of the Infinite Heavenly Laws and was granted reincarnation. His power had reached a realm beyond all men, second only to the heavens themselves.
Now, in this third life, he had once again drawn the favor of not just one, but two Supreme Laws — Time and Space. Perhaps even Emperor Kong Ming, for all his arrogance, had never truly understood the meaning of those ten words.
"Infinity has no beginning… no beginning can have no end?"
Nie Li scoffed inwardly.
"I've walked those roads. I'm still walking them."
And without knowing it, he had already begun to cultivate the Heavenly Dragon's Pride — an aura of boundless dominance, destined to shake the heavens and rewrite the fate of the world itself.
And just like that, Nie Li suddenly felt violent ripples deep within his soul realm. It twisted and churned, becoming dangerously unstable. He quickly sat down cross-legged, entering a meditative state to stabilize it.
From within the chaos, new Heavenly Marks began to form at an astonishing pace.
To support the terrifying energy demands of this mysterious transformation, Nie Li immediately summoned and refined the demon soul of a half-step Demigod-ranked beast, along with ten other powerful Legend-rank demon spirits. Each one stronger than the last, each one contributing to the explosive growth taking place within him.
Finally, the chaos settled.
Fifteen thousand radiant Dragon Marks formed inside his body — more than enough to shake any expert to their core. Along with them, a brand-new ability surfaced in his mind.
A Fire Attribute Control Technique.
But this was unlike any fire he had used before. This wasn't just the Hellfire he had once relied on. This was far more advanced — more refined, more terrifying.
First, it granted him absolute control over temperature — allowing him to increase or decrease the heat of his flames at will. He could go from gentle warmth to world-scorching inferno in an instant.
Second, it granted him immunity to all fire — no flame, no matter how powerful, could ever harm him again.
And lastly, it granted him the power of Elementalization. He could now transform his body into pure fire, making physical attacks useless against him.
"I'm getting more and more broken," Nie Li thought with a smirk.
He ran quick calculations in his mind.
"With these abilities, even most Peak Heavenly Fate experts wouldn't stand a chance against me — unless they had a top-tier bloodline or an extraordinary fate soul."
And that wasn't all.
He could feel it — his Sword Dao was on the verge of evolution. His cultivation in swordsmanship had reached its bottleneck. Now, all he needed was a final push — the most difficult step. The one all true swordmasters faced.
But once he broke through...
"No one below the Heavenly Star Realm will be my equal."